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There’d been no teasing, no smart-ass comments, and no random story that somehow took twenty minutes because Vera couldn’t tell a story without taking six unnecessary detours and stopping to ask me if I was still listening.

She hadn’t even complained when I told her to get some sleep.

That’s when I knew something was wrong, because Vera argued like she was getting paid. If brewing didn’t pan out, she’d make an awesome attorney.

I straightened and moved to the next display.

It was possible that she really was exhausted. Midterms were coming up, and between classes, labs, her project, me and my demands, and everything else she insisted on cramming into twenty-four hours, she had every reason to be.

But still… I knew my girl. Something was weighing on her. And being twelve hundred miles away meant there wasn’t a damn thing I could do about it—at least not tonight.

Tomorrow, my flight landed in Seattle before noon, and I planned to go straight to her. The gift wouldn’t fix whatever was wrong; I wasn’t stupid enough to believe that diamonds could resolve whatever she wasn’t ready to tell me. But if they made her smile, even for the slightest moment, then it was worth it.

I pointed at the case. “Can I see that one?”

“This?” she asked, pointing at the necklace.

“That’s the one.”

Promptly, she removed the necklace from the case and draped it carefully across the velvet between us.

I stared at the delicate piece and pictured Vera wearing it. The necklace was expensive but understated. It was something she could wear with jeans and one of my sweatshirts and could just as easily wear it to dinner at Andre’s.

“What stone is that?”

“Alexandrite.”

I leaned in closer to study it. The stone seemed to shift from green to purple before my eyes. I was about to ask when the associate beat me to it.

“It changes color depending on lighting,” she explained.

My mouth twitched into a smile.

Of course it does.

Vera had spent the last few months revealing a new version of herself every time I thought I had her figured out—biochemistry student, musician, brewery heiress, granddaughter of a music legend, cousin to the members of my favorite fucking band.

And somehow, I had the distinct feeling I hadn’t even scratched the surface.

“I’ll take it.”

The associate smiled. “Would you like to see the price first?”

“No,” I responded, pulling out my wallet. “Whatever it costs, it’s worth every penny.”

***

The cold bit at my face the second I stepped outside. I tugged my beanie down further when snow started falling again, dusting the sidewalks and parked cars. I shoved one hand into my coat pocket and carried the small shopping bag in the other, already imagining Vera’s face when I gave it to her tomorrow.

For the first time in three days, I felt sure of myself.

“MYERS!”

I stopped in my tracks.

Fuck.

There were some voices you forgot. Snoh Gray’s wasn’t one of them.